Christmas Breakfast Idea: Breakfast Casserole

We all know Christmas dinner is something most of us wait all year for, and if done right, it's certainly worth the wait and effort. Christmas breakfast, though, can be a little different experience.

As a kid, I was always up early on Christmas morning trying to get my family up to open presents. That was enough of a chore, but when I had to wait for my Mom to make coffee, it drove me nuts. Sometimes we had to wait until she made some cinnamon rolls, or else we didn't eat until after all the presents were open.

At some point, though, my Mom started making a breakfast casserole, which I've found to be the perfect Christmas breakfast.

First of all, it's easy and quick to make and can even be assembled ahead of time. Secondly, you can throw it in the oven when you start opening presents and not worry about it until it's done. Thirdly, it's delicious and filling enough to usually keep you going until a mid-afternoon feast.

Ingredients2 bags Simply Potatoes (They're in a green bag in the dairy section, usually by the eggs. I like to use one bag of plain and one of Southwest style, which adds a little flavor)
1 large carton of Egg Beaters (or any egg substitute)
1 package Butterball Everyday pre-cooked turkey sausage patties (This is great, because it keeps it from being greasy)
2 cups shredded cheese, divided (I like Mexican style, but just cheddar will work fine, too)

DirectionsChop up the sausage patties into little pieces and mix everything together in a large bowl, except for some of the cheese. Dump it all into a baking dish or casserole coated with cooking spray. Top with the rest of the cheese. Bake at at least 375 for at least 45-60 minutes. The key is to make sure the eggs are cooked in the middle. If it's not, microwave it until it is, or just be patient with the oven.

NOTE: You may need more eggs. If so, just add them in one at a time until you think everything is the right consistency.

By the way, if you like things like ketchup or hot sauce on your eggs, they'll work here, too.

Christmas Dinner Idea: Squash Casserole

One of the neat things about getting married is having your spouses family traditions become yours and vice versa. Well, at least the traditions you can get on board with. Let's be honest. Sometimes there are things your family has always done that your spouse things is crazy, and sometimes there are things her/his family does that you think are crazy.

But when things mesh, it's great! Take, for example, my wife's family tradition of Squash Casserole, that has found its place on our holiday table.

The Mrs. says she always remembers having here Nana's Squash Casserole at the holidays. Most of the time, she says, Nana showed up with it half-made, and they'd just have to bake it and enjoy! At age 95, Nana will join us this Christmas, and I hope she likes how I make her recipe. I made it for the first time at Thanksgiving, and I got high praise from my wife, and she said I could share it with all of you, so here goes.

Ingredients3 lbs yellow squash
3 eggs
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 sweet onion
10-12 Ritz crackers, crushed
1 bag (2 cups) 2% cheddar cheese, divided
French's fried onions

DirectionsCut up squash and dice onion. Combine and coil covered for about 30 minutes. Drain. Beat the eggs. Combine with squash, onions, soup, crackers and 1/2 cup of cheese. Mix and put in greased casserole dish. Bake in 350-375 degree oven for about 30 minutes. Test to make sure egg has gelled. Top with remainder of cheese. Put back in oven until cheese melts. Top with fried onions and put in oven until onions have browned.

If you have any issues in the middle with the eggs not setting, you can put it in the microwave for a few minutes.

Christmas Dinner Idea: Broccoli Cheese Casserole

Christmas is quickly approaching, and unfortunately I've fallen behind in my plans to share some dishes that have found a regular place on my family's holiday menu. But just like everything else involved in getting ready for Christmas, better late than never, right? So here goes.

One Christmas a couple decades ago my Aunt Rose Mary introduced us to this recipe. I don't know how often she's made it since, but there's rarely been a holiday dinner since on my side of the family that didn't include Broccoli Cheese Casserole. It's delicious, easy to make and even looks festive with its colors of red, green and gold.

Try it out at your holiday table, and you won't be disappointed. Even folks who are not big broccoli fans usually like it!

Ingredients20 oz. Frozen chopped broccoli

1 can cheddar cheese soup

1 can Italian recipe stewed tomatoes

2 eggs

2 cups Cheddar cheese – shredded, divided

Directions

Cook broccoli until tender and drain.

Beat eggs. Add to soup and tomatoes and mix together. Add broccoli and half of cheese, and mix together. Put mixture into a casserole dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle rest of cheese on top. Bake in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 30 minutes.

By the way, you can use low fat cheese and soup to make this a little healthier. It tastes just as good.

Mexican Lasagna

Back during my bachelor days in Kentucky I found a recipe for something called Mexican Lasagna on a package of ground turkey. I used to make it fairly often, as it was super easy and made enough for a couple days worth of leftovers.

For some reason, after I moved to North Carolina, I never made it again, which is strange, because my wife loves Mexican. So a few weeks ago, when we were looking for a fresh meal idea, I searched for that little recipe sticker that I was certain I had kept all those years ago. Alas, I could not find it in my collection of recipes or anywhere online, but a few similar recipes jogged my memory, and I've been able to recreate it. My wife loves it, but the two-year-old is not a huge fan, as it's a little spicy, though that can be adjusted, which we hope means he will start eating it the next time we make it.

IngredientsCorn tortillas
1 lb ground beef or turkey
Taco seasoning (Or your own spices. I use cumin, chili powder, cayenne, garlic powder and red pepper)
1 can diced tomatoes (I've used ones with green chiles and ones that are seasoned for chili, but I'm gonna try plain for the youthful palate at the table)
1 small can green chiles (optional)
1 can red enchilada sauce
1 can black beans, drained
2 cups shredded Mexican cheese

DirectionsBrown beef or turkey and season to taste. Stir in tomatoes (including liquid), black beans and green chiles if desired. Simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Coat a baking dish with cooking spray. Spread some enchilada sauce in the bottom of the dish. Line the dish with tortillas. In the oval dish I use, I put two whole tortillas and then tear a third in half to cover the whole surface for each layer. Top the tortillas with more enchilada sauce, half the meat mixture, then one third of the cheese. Add another layer of tortillas, sauce, rest of the meat mixture, another third of the cheese. Put on one more layer of tortillas, the rest of the enchilada sauce and cheese.

Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes until the cheese is melted and everything is bubbly and hot.

Serve up like regular lasagna, but with your favorite Mexican toppings, like guacamole, salsa and sour cream.

Family Dinner: Meatloaf

Meatloaf is a quintessential family dinner. There are a million ways to make it, and I've tried plenty of them. From what I've learned, meatloaf needs three basic ingredients: meat, eggs, breadcrumbs. On top of that are plenty of variations. So here's one I just made the other day.

Ingredients
1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. ground pork
2 eggs
1 cup Italian breadcrumbs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp cumin
1 cup ketchup or barbecue sauce

Mix all the ingredients except ketchup in a large bowl. Spray a 13"x9" baking pan with cooking spray. Form the meat mixture into a loaf in the pan. Bake in a 375-degree oven for 45 minutes. Remove. Increase the oven temperature to 400. Brush the top of the meatloaf with ketchup. Return to the oven for 15 minutes or until the meat is fully cooked to 160 degrees. Let rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving. I like mine with more ketchup.

 

Among the variations you can try, make it with ground turkey, or top with beef or mushroom gravy. Try adding some grated parmesan cheese to the mix. This is a great dish to experiment with, especially the seasonings you add. Try different combinations and see what you like best.

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Several years ago, a friend of my wife came to visit in the fall, and brought these delicious soft pumpkin cookies. Since then, they've become a staple of autumn in our house, and while cans of pumpkin care readily available and likely on sale in your neighborhood grocery store, now is the perfect time to bake some up.

If you're not much of a baker, don't worry. This recipe is hard to mess up. Just keep an eye on the cookies and take them out just as you think they're getting done. They'll cook a little more as they cool.

You can find the basic recipe for these by searching for "Old fashioned pumpkin cookies," but here's my modified recipe that adds a little more spice.

Ingredients

3 cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. allspice

1 tsp. ground cloves

1 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 c. soft butter

1 1/2 c. sugar

1 15 oz can solid pack pumpkin

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. mini chocolate chips

In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg allspice, cloves, ginger; set aside. With mixer cream butter and sugar in large bowl. Add pumpkin, egg and vanilla; beat until light and creamy. Add dry ingredients gradually; mix well. Fold in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto greased cookie sheets. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until light brown.

The cookies should have a firm, almost crusty outside, and a soft but firm (read: cooked) inside. They go great dunked in a glass of milk.

Feel free to add more or less of any of the spices depending on your taste. We decided during a family reunion a couple years ago to spice them up. You can also use pumpkin pie spice instead of the individual spices.

The recipe makes about three dozen cookies, so you'll have plenty for a while. Most of the recipes you'll find online include drizzling a simple icing over them finished products. Try it if you like, but we find the basic cookie is good enough!

Uncle Scott Salad

I started cooking when I was about eight or 10 years old, I guess. I asked my mom to teach me how to make scrambled eggs so I wouldn't have to wake her up on weekend mornings to make me breakfast. From there, my love of cooking evolved.

I'm no expert, but I take a great deal of pride in my cooking, and I've received many compliments. I've also usually been one of the best cooks I know. So of course, I wind up marrying a woman who's brother is a professional chef.

Truth is, it's been a great thing. My brother-in-law Scott has taught me a lot in the kitchen. Ironically, at holidays, I do most of the cooking for a couple of reasons. First, Scott's usually working, and secondly, people don't ask me to do TV shows on the holidays, so why should he have to spend the whole day cooking, right? But he usually arrives just in time to help me with that last-minute rush to get everything done and make sure the turkey is cooked.

Anyway... a lot of what Scott makes is, at least for now, a little above the subject matter of this blog. But there is one recipe of his that is incredibly simple and that we ask him to make when he comes to dinner at our house: Uncle Scott Salad.

Here's how simple it is: Get a bag of salad mix at the grocery store. Scott uses the one with lettuce, carrots and some cabbage. Dump it in a big bowl. He tops it with croutons, red onion slices, tomatoes and roasted sunflower seeds. Dish it out into smaller bowls and top it with your favorite dressing. That's it.

Of course, you can add in your personal favorite salad toppings, like the mushrooms I added to the salad above.

I know it's not much of a recipe, but it's really good, and let's face it: We could all use a little more salad in our diets, right?

Chicken Kinda Bleu

If you're like me, there is not always time to make exactly the dish you may be craving. So sometimes we need some shortcuts.

For example, Chicken Cordon Bleu is a tremendous treat, but it's a little labor intensive if you want to get it exactly right. So I came up with my own version I dubbed Chicken Kinda Bleu. It has all the basic elements of the original, just not some of the time-consuming assembly.

Ingredients
A boneless, skinless chicken breast for each person

Sliced deli ham
Swiss cheese (or whatever cheese you have/like)
Bread crumbs


DirectionsUse a filet knife to butterfly each chicken breast. That means cut a slit at its thickest part, but don't cut it all the way in half. Open the chicken up as if there was a hinge. On one side, place some ham and cheese. Close the other side back over. You may want to use two or three toothpicks to hold it closed. Just remember to take them all out before serving.


Put some bread crumbs in a shallow bowl or pan, and roll each filled chicken breast in it to get a light coating. Place the chicken in a baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350-375 for 30-45 minutes, or until the chicken is done and the cheese is melty.

We served it with some broccoli, rice and a roll (yes, a pretzel roll in this case).

Again, don't forget to take out all the toothpick before serving! You don't want anyone to get hurt.

Perfect for a Party: Pepperoni Rolls

A few years ago, my wife's college alumni group would gather on fall Saturdays to watch football games at a restaurant in Wilmington called Old Chicago. The organizer of the group had once worked there, and she introduced us to the restaurant's Pepperoni Rolls. They were UN-BE-LIEV-ABLE.

Sadly, Old Chicago closed a couple years ago and still sits empty. Happily, our friend not only knew the Pepperoni Rolls were delicious. She also knew how they were made, and gave us the simple recipe. Every so often, especially when we're watching football, we get a craving for these treats and make some ourselves. Once you see how easy this is and how good they taste, I'm sure you'll be making them for your next game.

Ingredients
 Pizza dough (You can use whatever you want. I often use the refrigerated canned kind, like Pillsbury, because its rectangular shape is perfect for this recipe)
Ranch dressing (optional)
Pizza sauce (or whatever spaghetti sauce you like)
Shredded mozzarella or Italian mix cheese
Sliced pepperoni (I often use turkey pepperoni to cut down on the fat content and greasiness)

Directions
Basically, you're just gonna make a pizza. Roll out the dough as best you can into a rectangle (again, this is why I use the canned kind). Brush a light layer of Ranch all over. Spread an even layer of sauce on top of that. Next, spread the shredded cheese all over and then evenly place pepperoni all over.

This is a great recipe to let the little ones help. My two-year-old loved helping put the pepperoni on.

Once your pizza is built, it's time to get rolling. Very carefully, roll one of the long sides up jellyroll style as tightly as possible without tearing the dough. This is not a skill I have mastered yet, which results in the final product being a little looser than what you might hope for, but it still tastes great! When it's all rolled up, cut the roll in half, then cut each half in half. Then each quarter in half, so you have eight equal pieces. Put another slice of pepperoni on each end of each piece of the roll.

In a baking dish coated with cooking spray, place the rolls on their end. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, until the dough is golden brown.

While the rolls are cooking, warm up some sauce, and serve it in on the side as a dipping sauce.

Crock Pot Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin

Time to add some Far East flair to our Crock Pot cooking. This one is absolutely full of flavor, and incredibly easy to make.

 Ingredients
Pork tenderloin
1 can crushed pineapple
1 cup Teriyaki sauce






Directions
Place tenderloin in Crock Pot. The package I get has two in it. Just wrap them around the bottom and make them fit as best you can in a single layer. Top with the crushed pineapple and Teriyaki sauce. Cook. That's it. Seriously.

When it's done, you won't need a knife. The pork will just pull apart in chunks and shreds. It is marvelously tender and tasty. It's sweet, yet tangy.

I know this isn't a great photo. It was so yummy, I forgot to take it until I was almost done. As you may be able to see, we served it with some brown rice and broccoli. Everyone loved it.

Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings

If you haven't figured it out by now, the Crock Pot is perhaps the ultimate cooking vessel for easy-to-make comfort food. And by easy, I mean typically a one-pot meal. Thus is the case with the Crock Pot version of Chicken and Dumplings, which is based on a recipe I found doing a simple search online.

Ingredients
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables1 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp Onion Powder
1 cup chicken stock
Salt and pepper
1 (10 ounce) package refrigerated biscuit dough, torn into pieces

Directions
Put all the ingredients except biscuits into the Crock Pot and cook. At least 30 minutes to an hour before serving, put torn up biscuits on top of everything. Replace lid and continue to cook until biscuits are cooked.

When the biscuits are cooked, use two forks to shred the chicken a bit and serve.

Crock Pot Chili

Is it ironic that when the weather gets cold, you can warm up with something called chili?

Anyway... here's another great Crock Pot classic that has dinner hot and ready as soon as you get home from a long day in the salt mines. And lemme tell you, there's something special about pulling into your garage and being able to smell your slow-cooked dinner wafting all the way from the kitchen.

Ingredients
1 pound ground beef or 2 cans Mexican/chili seasoned diced or stewed tomatoes (based on your preference)
1 can chili beans (heat level to your preference)
1 can black beans
1 can light red kidney beans
1 can dark red kidney beans
Cumin
Chili powder
Garlic powder
Red pepper
Cayenne pepper

Directions
Brown the meat in a skillet. While it cooks, turn on the Crock Pot, and drain all the cans of beans EXCEPT the chili beans. Dump all the beans and tomatoes in the Crock Pot, and add the spices to your preference. (I find that cumin, though, is key in getting a good, earthy flavor in my Mexican cooking, including chili) Stir the mixture. When the meat is browned, drain off the fat and stir the meat into the tomato and bean mixture. Put the lid on and let it cook.

Remember, if you're planning to let it cook all day, turn the Crock Pot on low. If you only have about four hours, use high.

We like to serve this up with hot corn bread or some crackers and shredded cheese. I add hot sauce. The wife likes sour cream. Add whatever you want.

Crock Pot Classic: Beef Stew

Fall has arrived, and the weather is starting to turn cool. That means it's time to break out the Crock Pot, which may be the single greatest kitchen gadget around.

If you have a Crock Pot (or slow cooker), and rarely use, I will teach you its versatility. If you don't have one, go get one. Seriously. I'll wait. You can get one for $15 or $20 at most stores, and it's worth every penny without a doubt. So go ahead.

OK. Now that we all have a Crock Pot, we'll start with a little education on what it is. Your slow cooker should have two main parts (though I have heard tell of a bizarre one-piece version that's a pain to clean, so stay away from that). First there's the base, which features a plug, a heating element and a knob. Some slow cookers have timers and various settings. Mine has a single knob that switches between Off, Low and High. Second there's the crock itself, which is a ceramic pot that sits inside the base. Of course, there is also the lid, which is very important, as I'll explain.

By the way, don't worry about what your Crock Pot looks like. Nowadays you can get them in all sorts of colors, but as you can see, mine looks like your Grandma's. It cooks just the same.

So the key to Crock Pot cooking is low and slow. The heating element in the base heats the crock evenly at a low temperature, which then allows the food to cook evenly, usually with the help of some liquid inside.

Now, you can make just about anything with a Crock Pot. I use it mainly for mains, but I've also made a great cheese dip for parties, I've seen it used to keep apple cider warm and there are even recipes for breakfasts and desserts.

As we start with Crock Pot cooking, I'll begin with a family favorite. If you asked me about a comfort food my Mom made when I was a kid, I would immediately think of her beef stew. It would have to be my favorite thing she made regularly, in part because when she did it in the Crock Pot, it would cook all day and fill the house with a delicious smell by the time you got home from school.

Beef stew is very simple, as you only need a few ingredients. First, of course, is the beef. I like to wait until the super market has stew beef on sale and buy a couple of packets at 1-1.5 pounds each. By the way, this recipe works for pot roast, too, with some slight derivations I'll explain later. You're just using a hunk of meat instead of the bite-sized pieces of stew meat.

Now, my Mom always browned the beef in a skillet, so that's what I do. While that cooks, I turn on the Crock Pot and add the vegetables to the Crock Pot. Now there are three must-have veggies for a good beef stew: potatoes, carrots and onions. A little celery is also good to add a little flavor. Now, at some grocery stores, though not the ones I shop at here in NC, you can sometimes find a frozen Stew Mix, which has all these essentials. If you can't, just buy each frozen or fresh. My Mom often uses or adds canned potatoes. I've used the frozen mix and then added a couple more fresh, peeled potatoes, which helps thicken the stew. When I made it most recently, I used fresh potatoes (halved), baby carrots and an onion cut into eight pieces, then added some frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, green beans, corn, peas) just to get some more veggies.

OK, so your veggies are in, and your beef is browned. Drain the fat from the meat and put the meat in the Crock Pot on top of the veggies. Now it's time to add a little flavor. Take an envelope of onion soup mix and add it to a cup of water. Pour it over the meat and veggies. Now put the lid on the Crock Pot. Remember, I said the lid is key. You have to make sure the lid is on well and not letting any steam out, as this will cause the Crock Pot to lose heat, which will hurt the cooking process.

You'll notice I didn't say what setting to put the Crock Pot on. Well, that's because it all depends how long you plan to cook. If you only have four hours or so, put it on high. If you have longer, put it on low. I typically, just as my Mom did, put this all together before I leave for work. I put it on low, and let it cook all day, so it's ready to eat when we get home, and the house smells so deliciously wonderful!

Believe me, this is a wonderfully simple and tasty dish that will not disappoint.

Now I mentioned that there are a few differences if you're making pot roast. I made some the other night with a kit I bought at the store. The directions on that did NOT call for browning the meat first, but it did call for putting the raw meat in the Crock Pot first, then topping it with the veggies and water. That's all. Talk about simple. When it's done, don't bother setting the table with knives, unless you need them to put butter on some bread, because everything else is fork tender!

In the coming days, I will share some more Crock Pot recipes, to prove what a wonderful tool it is, especially for busy families.

Cranberry Ranch Chicken

Now that we're closing in on fall, it's time for some yummy and easy comfort food!

When my friend Marcy first told me about this recipe six year ago, I thought it sounded kinda gross, but the Mrs. (who wasn't yet the Mrs.) thought it sounded good, so I made it. She was right, and this one-pot dish has become a staple of our dinner table, especially in the fall and winter.

This is one of those recipes anyone can make, because all it requires is dumping four ingredients in a dish, stirring and cooking. One tip, though, the better the quality of Ranch dressing you use, the better. When Marcy gave me the recipe she said to use the jarred Ranch you find in the refrigerated area of the produce section of the grocery store, like Marzetti or Marianne's. I've used regular bottled Ranch, and I've found the cheap store brand leaves things a little oily. Name brand (e.g. Kraft, Hidden Valley) work fine.

Ingredients
1 lb chicken cut into bite-size pieces
8-10 oz Ranch dressing (see note above)
1 can WHOLE BERRY cranberry sauce (NOT the jelly kind)
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 lb egg noodles (cooked as directed)


Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray (makes clean-up a little easier). Mix the chicken, Ranch, cranberry sauce and onion soup mix in the casserole dish and bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees.

Serve over egg noodles. For a little more balance and color, serve with a green veggie. I've found steamed broccoli is the perfect pairing.

Give this recipe a try. I'm pretty sure you and your family will like it as much as we do!

Chicken & Vegetables in White Wine Sauce

Here's another easy and tasty recipe that's sure to please. As is often the case with my recipes, feel free to change the ingredients to suit your taste.

Before you get started, there's an important tip about cooking with wine. In the grocery store you can find what's called cooking wine. DO NOT BUY IT! Any chef will tell you this simple rule: If you wouldn't drink it, don't cook with it. That does not mean you have to be a wine connoisseur. Just use what you like. If you're not a wine drinker, just ask a friend or someone at the store. I used Barefoot Chardonnay with this. And of course, if you use a wine you like to drink, it makes it very easy to find the right wine to pair with the meal!

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 pound chicken cut into bite-sized pieces
1 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 gloves garlic chopped
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 cup white wine
2 cups cooked rice (I used Jasmine rice, which adds a nice aromatic flavor, but use whatever you have/like)

Directions
Cook rice according to directions.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Brown chicken until almost done. Add carrots, onions and garlic and cook until veggies start to soften. Add mushrooms and cook another minute or two. Slowly add wine and scrape bits off bottom of pan. Stir in onion soup mix. Bring to boil, reduce heat to low and simmer 5-10 minutes. Serve over rice.

As you can see, I served it with a side of broccoli to add a little more color to the dish. The kids should love it, too!

Veggie & Turkey Sausage Lasagna

I know, I've been very slack lately posting recipes, but I'm gonna try to do better with several in the can, as we say in TV.

This recipe is another lesson in Italian cooking, as I long ago promised, but an intermediary step. It is lasagna, but not traditional in a couple of senses. One way is the ingredient. The other is a short-cut in the cooking.

This is something I came up with kind of on the fly. We were looking for a big family dinner with leftovers that had some nutritional value. So I lasagna took care of the first part. Vegetables took care of the second. This is also another of those recipes you can tweak for whatever your taste.

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil1 lb turkey sausage (removed from casings and crumbled)
1 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic chopped
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup broccoli florets
1 zucchini sliced
1 cup sliced mushrooms
Handful fresh basil
2 jars tomato sauce (whatever kind or kinds you like)
1 box no-cook lasagna noodles
1 lb ricotta
1 lb shredded cheese (I believe I used one bag of Italian recipe and one Taco blend)

Directions
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or wok (a wok is actually ideal for later). Brown sausage. When it's about done, add onion, garlic, carrots and broccoli, and cook until they start to get soft. Add zucchini, mushrooms and basil, and cook until they start to get soft. Add a little sauce and the ricotta. Cook until the whole mixture is well mixed and starts to get a little bubbly.

Spread some sauce in bottom of a large roasting pan (aka lasagna pan). Place a third of the lasagna noodles (no need to cook these) on top of the sauce. Spread some more sauce on top of noodles. Spread half of the sausage/veggie/cheese mixture, and sprinkle with some of a third of the shredded cheese. Top with another third of noodles, then more sauce, then the rest of the mixture, a third of the shredded cheese, last of noodles, more sauce, last of shredded cheese. Sprinkle some Italian herbs on top if you'd like, and yes, I like!

Cover pan with foil and bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes until the whole thing is bubbly and melty. Yes, those are technical culinary terms.

Congratulations. You have made lasagna. Eventually we'll get to the real deal, but like I said at the top, this is a great intermediary step to learn some of the basics.

Serve this up with salad, garlic bread and the rest of the sauce heated.

We fed four adults and a child, and still had about half to put in the freezer for another day plus a couple servings for lunch at work the next day. I originally planned to make it with much less of the sausage, but I'm glad I used it all. It added a great flavor! You could make it without meat at all, but again, I think you'd lose a lot of flavor.

Gold Medal Meals: Beef Stroganoff

OK. I admit it. I dropped the ball. An out-of-town weekend trip and the busyness of life with two kids kept me from continuing my plan of a meal from a different nation each night of the Olympics. So on this night where London extinguished its cauldron, I decided to make one more Gold Medal Meal.

One of the traditions of the Closing Ceremonies at the Olympics is the hand-off to the next host city. In this case, London passes off to Rio De Jeneiro, Brazil, for the next summer games, but the next host is Sochi, Russia, home of the XXII Olympic Winter Games. So in honor of Russia, I decided to make Beef Stronganoff (or Stronganov).

As I often do, I searched for an easy recipe for the dish, and then added a few touches of my own. In addition to getting me back to the Olympic theme, this unlike many of the other Gold Medal Meals, fits with the theme of simplicity in cooking this blog targets.

Ingredients
12-16 oz package egg noodles
1 lb lean ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic chopped
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup (low or reduced fat preferably)
1/2 cup sour cream
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
In large pot of boiling water, cook noodles according to directions.

In large skillet over medium-high heat, brown ground beef. Just before it's all done, drain the grease. Stir in the onion, and cook two more minutes. Stir in garlic and mushrooms. Cook two more minutes, or until mushrooms are tender. Stir in soup, salt and pepper, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 8-10 minutes. Stir in sour cream, simmer two more minutes. Serve over noodles.

It's not the most photogenic dish, but it's pretty tasty, even if our little guy wasn't willing to give it a chance. My wife and I talked about how it would be an easy dish to hide some veggies, like diced carrots, by adding them in with the meat and other veggies.

Gold Medal Meals: El Cubano

 Earlier this week I told you how my German Pork Roast was a set up for another dish. That dish was tonight's dinner.

I guess I fell in love with the Cuban Pork Sandwich when I lived in Florida. They were pretty common fare down there, and usually pretty good. Since then I've figured they're a great way to use leftover pork, too. And they're easy to make.

Ingredients
1 loaf soft, crusty bread (If you can find a Cuban loaf, go with that, as that's the traditional bread. I found what I think the local grocery store called a French loaf, which was long, wide and not very high. You can certainly scale this down. I went with the big loaf, because I was making it as a family dinner with leftovers for lunch)
Roasted pork sliced (I used one of the two I made with the German Roast Pork)
Ham
Swiss cheese
Mustard (I used deli mustard)
Pickles

Directions
Slice the bread in half and spread the mustard on the top half. Layer the bottom with the slices of pork. Top with a layer of sliced deli ham, Swiss cheese and plenty of pickles. Top with the other half of the loaf.

Of course, the key to a Cuban sandwich is heating and pressing it. Traditionally, it's done with hot bricks. Seriously. But if you're like me, you probably don't have a lot of hot bricks sitting around. I do, though, have a George Foreman Grill that also doubles as a sandwich (panini) press. So I heated that up, cut the sandwich in half so it would fit and grilled each half for several minutes. You want to add some pressure to flatten it as much as possible, and may even need to rotate the sandwich along the way to get it even. It's done when the bread is nice and toasty and the cheese inside is good and melted. That's it! This sandwich will not disappoint.

To add to the Cuban flavor, I served it with black beans, (Spanish) rice and, of course, fried plantains. Unfortunately, I learned the trick to plantains too late. Turns out you need really (over)ripe ones. A lot of the stuff I read said the blacker the better, as you want a high sugar content, so buy them several days ahead and put them in a paper bag to try to ripen them. At any rate, peel the plantains and cut them into 3/4-inch pieces. In 350-degree oil, fry them for about three minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels. Standing the pieces on their end, smash them flat with a spatula. Put them back in the hot oil for a minute or so until they are golden brown. Remove, drain and sprinkle with salt.

 

I'm gonna take a few days break in posting recipes. We're having Chicken Lombardi tomorrow for a taste of Italy. Then we're going out of town for a few days for a wedding. I promise more recipes next week. If you have any ideas, feel free to share!

Gold Medal Meals: Pierogi

When I was in college, my Broadcast News teacher was David Hazinski. At the end of the school year, he would host a party at his house, complete with authentic Polish sausage and pierogi made by nuns at a convent in Pittsburgh. So imagine his dismay when one year he found out the nuns had retired from the pierogi making business, and he had to find them somewhere else.

For those who don't know, pierogi are basically Polish dumplings, which can be filled with all sorts of things, from the traditional potato to meat to fruit and other desserts.

Well, I have a little idea now what those nuns went through to make their culinary art, and I will admit, this recipe does not really fit into my goal of easy-to-make dishes. It was definitely labor intensive, but good things are worth the effort, right? I did a simple online search, and when I saw one that mentioned Pittsburgh, I had to go with that in honor of Hazinski and the nuns.

Now my pierogi were surely not as good as the ones the nuns made, but they were pretty good. And they marked another country off the list in my Olympic tour of dinners.

Ingredients
2 cups flour, plus extra for kneading and rolling dough
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup sour cream, plus extra to serve with the pierogi
1/4 cup butter, softened and cut into small pieces
Butter and onions for cooking


Filling:
5 large potatoes cut into pieces
1 onion
8 oz shredded cheese
2 tbsp butter

Mix flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a small bowl, beat the egg. Add beaten egg, sour cream and butter to flour mixture. Mix until a good dough forms, but don't overdo it. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate at least 20-30 minutes.

Boil cut up potatoes in a large pot until fork tender. While the potatoes are cooking, chop onions finely and saute in butter. When potatoes are done, drain and mash. Mix in cooked onions and cheese. Let mixture cool. I also added some salt, pepper, parsley and garlic powder just for a little extra flavor. You can tweak however you want.

On a flour-dusted surface, roll out dough until about 1/8" thick. Using a cookie cutter or a drinking glass cut out circles depending on how big you want. Make about one-inch balls of filling and wrap inside a circle of dough. If the edges don't seal, moisten with a little water. A good seal is very important, or else you'll wind up with empty pierogi.

This picture is of a double batch, which is about 30-35 pierogi. I made them last night so they'd be ready to go for dinner tonight. I made about half of them and plan to freeze the rest for another day. If I were to make them again in the future, I would put them in single layers separated by wax paper, as they tend to stick together and then tear a little as you pull them apart.

When it's time to cook, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Working in batches, place the pierogi in the boiling water and cook for 8-10 minutes. They'll float to the top. Let them dry and cool.

In a large pan, saute half a chopped onion in some butter. Working in batches, cook in the butter and onions until brown and a little crispy.

Apparently the traditional accompaniment is sour cream, which is a good combo. They may not look like much, but these little fried carb balls are quite filling.

I served mine up with some sauteed carrots for a little color.

Again, these may not meet with Hazinski's approval, and they're certainly nothing like the nuns made, but it was definitely a fun experience. I would like to experiment more with different flavors in the future, especially the dessert versions. It's also given me confidence to try my hand at ravioli, as I've long wanted to do. Smacznego! That's Polish for bon appetit!

Gold Medal Meals: German Pork Roast

We got back on the podium tonight, if you will. After taking an American fast food break from our run of Gold Medal Meals, our culinary tour moved back to Europe. Germany specifically.

The way I arrived at this dish is interesting, in that I actually had to figure out a meal that would give me the leftovers I need for another dish later this week. I don't want to give it away, but the main ingredient I need is roasted pork. So I figured the Germans would be a good choice to do up a pork roast. Indeed, I found several recipes for Schweinebraten, and picked a simple one. As always, I made some slight adjustments for my needs and based on my stock of ingredients. Also, I'm including the ingredients and directions I followed, but below that I've included some notes I think would make this even better.

Ingredients 
3 tablespoons olive oil 
4 garlic cloves, minced 
1 teaspoon lemon juice 
1 teaspoon mustard (I substituted deli for stone-ground)
1 teaspoon salt 
1/2 teaspoon each dried oregano, thyme and rosemary, crushed 
1/4 teaspoon pepper 
2-4 lbs pork roast (the original recipe calls for boneless whole loin roast, but for economy's sake, I went with a loin rib end roast)
4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges (I suggest
3 medium onions, cut into wedges 
1 medium yellow tomato, cut into wedges

Directions
Mix olive oil, garlic, mustard, lemon juice and spices in a bowl. Rub mixture all over the roast. Place roast on a rack in a roasting pan. Cook at 350 for about 20 minutes. Add potatoes, onions and tomatoes. Cook for 40-70 minutes or until pork reaches 160 and potatoes are cooked through. Let meat rest 10 minutes before slicing

  

Now, I'd never cooked this before, and the pork turned out tender and juicy, but I thought it could have used a little more flavor. Using the stone-ground mustard that the original recipe called for probably would have helped. I also would have liked a little more color, and would probably use a regular red tomato if I ever make it again and/or some carrots. That being said, we thought the roasted yellow tomato was delicious! I might also toss the potatoes in a little oil and maybe a little seasoning, such as seasoned salt or onion soup mix just to add a little flavor.

Regardless, like I said, the roast was very nice. A little apple sauce definitely made a nice accompaniment, and helped our two-year-old enjoy it a little more.

Again, this was a set-up meal for something later this week. The only hint I'll give is that it won't be European like tomorrow's meal will be.

Gold Medal Meals: Teriyaki Bowls

Last week I mentioned to my wife that for dinner Friday night, in honor of the Olympics, we should have something British. Unfortunately, I didn't find a recipe in time that I liked, so we wound up having Chicken Tacos. That led to another idea, though. I decided for the duration of the Olympics, we would have a dish inspired by a different country each night. Check off Mexico.

Of course, there is no shortage of international cuisine to choose from, but the theme of this blog is to focus on stuff that's not crazy hard to make. So for night No. 2, I thought long and hard. Finally I decided on something Japanese: Teriyaki Bowls. This is something I fell in love with when I lived in California near a restaurant called Yoshinoya. Basically, it was a bowl of steamed rice with Teriyaki chicken (or beef) and steamed veggies. When I moved to Gainesville, FL, there was a place called Maui Teriyaki that served something similar. All in all, it's a tasty dish that's pretty healthy.

Ingredients
2 cups rice (Whatever kind you like. I used brown rice to make it a little healthier)
1 bottle Teriyaki sauce (I used low sodium)
2 chicken breasts sliced into thin strips
1 bag frozen cauliflower, carrot, broccoli mix (the store here calls it California mix)
1/2 an onion sliced thin
1/2 a head of cabbage sliced thin

Directions
-Cook rice according to its directions.
-In a medium saucepan, bring one cup of water to a boil. Add the frozen veggies. Return to boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Drain, reserving liquid.
-In a large saucepan, heat the Teriyaki sauce and onions over medium-high heat. When it starts to boil add the chicken. Put the California mix veggies on top of the chicken and the sliced cabbage on top of the veggies. Pour some of the hot water from the veggies over the cabbage. Cover with a lid.
-When the sauce starts to boil, reduce heat to medium, and let cook for 10-15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked and all the veggies, especially the cabbage, are tender.
-Put rice in a bowl and top with cabbage, veggies and chicken. Add more sauce if desired. (I remember extra sauce being one of the best parts at Maui Teriyaki)

That's it. Like I said. It's pretty simply, and really yummy. I like to add some hot Chinese mustard to mine.

So two nights down, and a couple more weeks to go. It looks like a sudden strong thunderstorm kept my wife from getting to the grocery store, so we'll honor Team USA with some authentic American southern BBQ (take out).

Southern Classic: Shrimp & Grits

With the Mrs. home on maternity leave/summer break (she is a teacher), I've been spoiled a bit by coming home to a lot of dinners on the table. That means I haven't had a chance to do a lot of cooking myself, but today, I was back it.

If you've ever spent time in the South, you may have tried to the classic dish Shrimp & Grits. It is an incredibly delicious and versatile dish that can be enjoyed at any meal. We make it for Sunday dinners from time to time, but I guess traditionally it's a breakfast/brunch dish. Believe me, though, it's good  any time.

I found the basis for this recipe doing a search for "easy shrimp and grits" and finding a recipe on
"Southern Living" magazine's website from a restaurant in Chapel Hill, NC. I've adapted it just a little, by using a Vidalia (read: sweet) onion instead of green onions, as I normally have one on hand and like to think it adds a little more traditional southern flavor to the dish. I also use olive oil (again, I have it and like it), and use whatever shredded cheese that moves me for the cheese grits (tonight I used some Cheddar Jack and an Italian blend.

Now before we get down to the recipe, a very important piece of advice. You need to make this dish like you're on a TV cooking show. In other words, have everything measured out and ready to go. This is not a hard recipe, but it all happens quickly, and it's two dishes in one that must be cooked at the same time. I'll try to give you the timing as we go.

Ingredients
2-4 bacon slices
1 pound peeled, cleaned medium shrimp
Salt & pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 tablespoon olive oil (or just keep all the bacon drippings)
1/2 cup chopped Vidalia (sweet) onion
1 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Hot sauce to taste

Cheese Grits
14 oz chicken broth
1 cup skim milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup quick cook grits
1 cup shredded cheese of your choice (the original recipe calls for 3/4 cup sharp Cheddar and 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan)
Hot sauce to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper


Cook the bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon, and drain on paper towels. Crumble bacon and set aside. Reserve 1 tablespoon drippings in skillet.

When the bacon is almost done, in a medium saucepan, combine 14 oz chicken broth, skim milk and 1/2 teaspoon salt and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Gradually whisk in grits. Lower heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Back in the skillet, sauté mushrooms in hot drippings with oil for 5 minutes or until tender. Add onions, and sauté 2 minutes.

As veggies cook, sprinkle some salt and pepper on the shrimp and dredge in flour. Add shrimp and garlic, and sauté 2 minutes or until shrimp are lightly browned. Stir in chicken broth, lemon juice, and hot sauce, and cook 2 more minutes, stirring to loosen particles from bottom of skillet.

Back to the grits: Stir in cheese, white pepper and hot sauce.

Spoon shrimp mixture over hot Cheese Grits; sprinkle with crumbled bacon.

It may not look like the prettiest dish in this photo, but it's delicious! My wife says it's as good as any version she's had in a restaurant. I served it with warm French bread. Also, as different people have different tastes, I like to add more hot sauce to my personal plate, but you do need a little while cooking for the flavor.

If you're making this for breakfast or brunch, serve it along with scrambled eggs and biscuits. Leftovers also go nicely with some eggs for breakfast. Enjoy!

Just in time for summer: Fall-off-the-Bone Ribs

The unofficial start of summer has arrived, and that means grilling season. Every dad wants to be a master griller, but let's be honest: It's not always as easy as we'd like. I, for one, often have trouble knowing when meats are cooked properly, which really frustrates me.

By the way, when we moved from Pennsylvania to South Carolina when I was a kid, my family learned an important lesson. Up north, barbecue is a verb, as in, "Let's barbecue this afternoon," or gerund, as in, "We're going to have a barbecue." In the south, it's a noun, as in, "We're having barbecue for dinner."

Anyway... while I am yet to master steaks or even burgers, I have learned a recipe for ribs that is always sure to impress. Before we start, though, I will tell you that rib experts/snobs will probably tell you that this is not the real way to cook ribs, because apparently if a rib falls off the bone, it's been steamed, instead of smoked. A rib, they'll tell you, should be chewy and require some work with your teeth. Well, if this recipe is wrong, I don't want to be right! That's how good it is.

So how did I discover this? Simple. I Googled "easy ribs" or something like that, and found a recipe for dry-rubbed ribs that is easy and delicious. Through a little experimentation, I have tweaked it a little and guarantee success.

So here's what you'll need:

2 racks of pork ribs (whatever kind you want will work)
Your favorite BBQ sauce if desired.

For the rub:
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
The juice of half a lime (or the whole lime, if you'd like!)

Rinse the ribs with cold water and pat dry with a paper towel. Lay each rack on its own long sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil. You MUST use heavy duty foil for this. The regular stuff tears way too easily.

Mix all the rub ingredients together in a small bowl until it forms a gritty paste. Rub it all over both sides of each rack until they are coated evenly. Don't forget the sides! The rub is pretty spicy, but it will mellow as it cooks.

Fold up the foil for a tight seal. You may need to an extra piece to cover any seams, and you may need more later if it starts to leak and cause flare-ups on the grill. Let the ribs chill in the refrigerator for as long as possible. The longer the better, as the meat really soaks up the flavor, so if you can leave it overnight, great, but I've done it for about an hour, and it's still fine.

Heat your gas grill to 300, and put the wrapped ribs right on the grate. Cook for about 2.5 hours. Remember, when you're barbecuing, low and slow is the key. After about 2.5 hour, use a sharp knife, and cut open the foil.

Brush on your favorite BBQ sauce on the meaty side if you want, and carefully flip the ribs onto the grate. Brush the backside with the sauce and let cook for another 5 or 10 minutes or so per side until the sauce caramelizes and forms a nice, sticky crust.

 

Look closely at the picture above, and you can see where some of the meat tore away while flipping. That's how tender these ribs are.

Usually two racks is more than enough for four people. Be careful as you move them from the grill to a platter and to a plate. They can be so tender that they will fall apart as you transfer them.

It's Greek to me: Souvlaki & Greek Potatoes

Sorry the blog has been so quiet lately. As you might imagine, with our new addition, there's little time for things like this. Plus, we've had some great friends who have spoiled us with meals, so there hasn't been a whole lot of cooking. Nevertheless, I have a couple more recipes ready to go, including this one.

It's Greek Festival weekend in Wilmington, but with a couple of little kids, we decided not to try to navigate the event and make our own Greek dinner. The idea is inspired by my favorite dish at a great restaurant back home in South Carolina: Zorba's. Anyone who has grown up in or around Irmo knows Zorba's, and the Souvlaki Platter there has long been my standard order. You can serve this up with beef or chicken. We made chicken last night, so that's what you'll see in this recipe.

Ingredients

Chicken breasts and/or beef tips/steak (really any cut will do)
Greek/Souvlaki seasoning (I use Cavender's Greek Seasoning)
Olive oil
Balsamic or red wine vinegar
Potatoes
Stewed tomatoes
Oregano
Basil
Mint
Tzatziki sauce (recipe below)
Pita bread

For Souvlaki
Cut meat into bite-sized pieces. In zip top bag combine about 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup vinegar, Souvlaki seasoning (at least a couple tablespoons) and mix together. Add meat, a spring of fresh mint, fresh basil and oregano and marinate at least 30 minutes. Place on hot grill (I use my George Foreman Grill), sprinkle with more seasoning if desired and cook until done.

For potatoes
Cut peeled potatoes in half. In medium pot, cover with cold, salted water and bring to a boil. Boil for four minutes. Remove most of the water and add in a can of stewed tomatoes, some oregano, mint, basil and Greek seasoning. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer until fork tender.

Tzatziki Sauce

 

2 cups Plain yogurt (Greek yogurt is even better)

1 Cucumber

2 cloves garlic chopped

1 tbsp olive oil
Pinch of salt
1 tsp chopped fresh mint
1 tsp chopped fresh oregano

Peel cucumber. Cut in half and scoop out seeds with a spoon.

Chop cucumber as finely as possible. Place chopped cucumber on thick layer of paper towels and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Mix in small bowl with rest of the ingredients. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Serve Souvlaki and potatoes with sauce and warm pita.

I also made a side of spinach by heating a little olive oil in a non-stick pan. Add crushed garlic and cook until it's almost brown. Add in a bunch of spinach leaves. Turn to coat and heat until done. Remember, spinach cooks down a great deal, so a full bunch will only give you about a small bowl full.